The present invention relates to child-related accessories. More specifically, the present invention relates to a flexible bottle warmer that is portable so it can be used during travel, such as in a vehicle.
It is well know that there is a desire to warm the milk or formula prior to feeding it to a young child. When in the home environment, the milk is typically warmed by first warming water in a saucepan on a stove and, then the bottle, with the milk therein, is placed in the water for the appropriate amount of time so that the milk reaches the desired temperature. Periodically, the milk must be tested to ensure that the optimum desired temperature is reached. Also, it has been known to place the baby bottle with the milk therein directly into a microwave for heating. If the correct cooking time and temperature are not properly selected, the milk could burn and the bottle itself can be damaged.
Therefore, there has been identified a need to reliably and safely warm (i.e. heat) a baby bottle with milk or formula therein to a desired temperature. To address this need, many bottle warmers have been attempted in the prior art. For the home, a known bottle warmer includes a blender-like construction with heated water therein. The bottle is placed into heated the water which is circulated at high speed about the bottle to heat it. This prior art apparatus heats up a bottle very quickly but, due to its size and requirement of water, it is impractical for use in a vehicle or outside the home.
A further example of a prior art bottle warmer includes a rigid housing with a cylindrical opening for receipt of the bottle therein. Heater elements reside within the housing to warm a bottle residing within the housing. They can plugged into a wall outlet or to a vehicle cigarette lighter via a 12 volt adapter. However, these prior art bottle heaters are large in size and not well suited for transport. Its rigid construction can only accommodate a standard cylindrical baby bottle. These rigid housings of prior art bottle warmers cannot accommodate the new baby bottle configurations that are not completely cylindrical in shape.
There also have been attempts in the prior to provide a flexible bottle warmer. These apparatus typically includes a length of material that is wrapped about the bottle. Heating elements are embedded within the material to provide heat to the bottle. While these prior flexible wrap-style heaters are compact and portable, they are difficult and cumbersome to install about a bottle and do not conform closely to the outer configuration of a bottle, particularly new baby bottles that include a bend in the neck and non-cylindrical configurations.
In view of the foregoing, there is a demand for bottle heater that can easily conform to a wide range of bottles, including those with non-cylindrical shapes and bends in the neck region. There is also a demand for a bottle warmer that is lightweight, compact and portable for easy transport. There is also a demand for a bottle warmer that can be used in a car outside the home. There is a further demand for a bottle warmer that is inexpensive yet be able to provide even and effective heat to a baby bottle.